Early autumn-- Lights of houses are on Even in a young evening. Tr. Shoji Kumano

The start of autumn! Evening is at the point where other's lights are seen.

All the more expensive hard cover anthologies of the famous haiku writers will include prose versions of the haiku that include everything that the haiku hints at. Kumano's translation is a rendering of the prose piece accompanying this haiku in the Buson anthology I have. I think that writing everything in just kills the poetry in the original. By making the evening the subject, Buson is able to give us a scene that accurately depicts the falling darkness through time so we can stand and watch the house lights in the houses he looks down upon come on. It catches the mood of the time of year when evening falls earlier and earlier. Tr. and comment : James Karkoski - facebook

Lights of houses on even in a young evening— early autumn's start Tr. Bill Dennis - facebook

Winter comes And with it the weather Outside of the capital. Tr. Thomas McAuley

初冬や訪はんと思ふ人来ます hatsufuyu ya towan to omou hito kimasu

The first of winter-- One I've wanted to visit Called on me. Tr. Nelson and Saito

Early winter-- I thought I was going visiting but the person has come here. Tr. Sawa and Shiffert

Winter has begun! The one I was hoping of visiting does come.

When winter comes people tend to hunker down and stay at home, which can lead into a desire for the company of others. Buson hasn't been able to rouse himself to go visit a person that he wants to see, but now that person has come to visit him. With an interesting twist, Buson has turned the negative connotations that usually follow the coming of the winter into a positive emotion. Tr. and comment : James Karkoski - facebook

The first ice-- What was spilled Between the stones? Tr. Nelson and Saito

The first skim of ice, there's something that's been spilled on the shrine's slab walkways.

'Ishi no ma' are the slabs of stones that are laid in as a walkway in the open air courtyard that connects the main hall and the worship hall on the grounds of a large shrine. The courtyard has been iced over, but something has been spread on the smooth walkway slabs to turn the ice on it into slush so people will be able to come and go on it. By wondering about why the walkway is slush, Buson is able to draw a contrast between it and the rest of the courtyard that is still skimmed by a smooth pristine layer of ice. Tr. Jim Wilson, comment James Karkoski - facebook

The year's first frost-- On the kudzu leaves Flipped over by the wind before. Tr. Nelson and Saito

First frost of the year! On the kudzu leaves that are blown upside over.

The broad kudzu leaves attached to the vine are easily blown around by the wind and Japanese poets have been writing about them for centuries. Bashō wrote a haiku about noticing the frost on the front of the leaves and Buson is noticing it on the leaves that have been turned upside by the wind. Another example of the different positional kind of perception that Buson was able to look at the world with. Tr. and comment James Karkoski - facebook

The year's first frost-- An ailing crane In the distance seen. Tr. Nelson and Saito

winter's first frost-- visible in the distance an ailing crane Tr. Ueda

the first frost; seeing a suffering crane in the distance Tr. Michael Haldane

The first frost has fallen! Worn suffering cranes will be seen from afar.

Cranes are migratory birds that come into Japan from Korea and China at the start of winter. The first frost means the coming of winter, and Buson expects that the weary cranes ending their migration won't be far behind. The Japanese often just use the dictionary form of verbs as the future tense and I think it is clear that Buson is indicating a future action here. It could also be argued here that he might be talking about a habitual action, and so the present tense 'are seen' can be read too. But I think the probability of the cranes always showing up on the first day of frost is an improbable argument. Tr. and comment : James Karkoski - facebook

By the first full tide Pursued Upstream swim the fries. Tr. Nelson and Saito

By the high tide swept away so they swim upstream, the tiny fish! Tr. Sawa and Shiffert

Being pursued by a strong autumn moon tide.... the small fish climb upstream!

Pressed by the strong autumn moon tide to rise up; the small fish of the sea!

Hatsushio is the tide that is caused by the full moon that occurs on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. By the solar calendar it now occurs in September. Since the moon affects the tides, this very bright moon is considered to cause the strongest tides of the year. In Japanese, the verb is always at the end of the phrase, and since they also place them together to make compiled verbs, and place them as modifiers in front of nouns, the three verbs Buson stacked together in this haiku make it able to have a double reading. In the first version, the strong tide that the 15th night moon makes has moved up so far up river that it is forcing the small fish there to flee from it. The second reading implies that the fish are in the ocean and the tide is making them rise up with it. I prefer the first reading, my in-laws house is on a quite a distance up a small stream that runs into the sea, so I've experienced how much, and how far, the coming of the tides can affect fresh water levels and water quality. Tr. and comment : James Karkoski - facebook

Autumnal sadness Just about to forget as I was-- The first winter shower. Tr. Nelson and Saito

Just when I'd thought I had forgotten autumn's pathos; the first rain of winter.

The haiku is pretty explicit and needs no explanation. It catches the state of mind that happens when the soft thin beginning rains of winter start to wet the brown and desolate landscape that the end of autumn brings. Buson used 19 morae to express sentiment. Tr. James Karkoski - facebook

A bagworm-- Complacent and proud The first shower in winters. Tr. Nelson and Saito

Straw raincoat bugs without any hesitation, the first rain of winter.

The straw raincoat bugs have done well for themselves: the first rain of winter.

Bagworms in Japanese are called 'minomushi' (literally straw raincoat bugs) because they will often camouflage themselves with twigs and leaves that make them look similar to the old style made from straw 'mino' raincoats that were in use before the modernization of Japan. They are a fall 'kigo' because the males in autumn will seek out the females who never leave their protective 'bags' (or coats) to mate. The female dies and the eggs ride out the winter until hatching in the spring. The phrase 'etari kashikoshi' (literally 'having obtained wisely') is translated in Japanese to English dictionaries as 'readily, very eagerly, without a moment's hesitation,' but in Japanese dictionaries it is explained as 'when things go the way you thought and and proceed well to satisfaction.' I like the first version better because I think it brings out the connection between the seeking of the female and the winter rain with a bit more humor. (I have added a syllable in the 2nd line of the first translation, 'a' instead of 'any' just doesn't sound right to me) Tr. James Karkoski - facebook

A warbler Missing its footing on a twig-- Its first song in spring. Tr. Nelson and Saito

A bush warbler loses its footing on a branch: its first sound I hear!!

I live at the foot of a mountain so I often hear the bush warblers when they are around in spring. As the video link below shows, their warbling does have a slippery slope quality to it, which Buson humorously relates to loosing balance while singing. The verb here can also be read as indicating the future, but in this case I don't think it does. - reference :youtu.be/FhXfQrKvokU - Tr. James Karkoski - facebook

The warbler's inexperienced simplicity is better year's first song Tr. Crowley

The warbler's rough inattentiveness has increased: the first songs it sings!

The young warblers initially have trouble making the sounds that has made them the favorite songbirds in Japan. The pitch of the fledglings can be quite wild until they hear enough of the smoother older birds who they start copying. In Buson's day, the practice of keeping caged warblers in the house was popular and it is most likely that he is writing about a young warbler that he is keeping as a pet. Perhaps, the lack of being around other birds is what is keeping this one from singing sweetly? Having had the experience of hearing a caged warbler sing, I can attest to how much of a force of sound they can generate in an enclosed space. A young one who is in the stage of practicing must be quite jarring indeed! Tr. James Karkoski - facebook

mudslides on our access road It was one of the worst strong rains with thunder going on for about four hours last night. A lot of damage done in many parts of Okayama, Western Japan and Kyushu. And now the front moves north toward Tokyo and Tohoku.

Heavy rain hits western Japan, may reach central Japan through Fri. TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A low pressure system and a rainy front brought heavy rain Thursday to the Pacific side of western Japan, prompting the weather agency to warn of downpours in a broad area from Okinawa to western and central Japan through Friday.

Precipitation logged 67.5 millimeters per hour in Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture, and 46.5 mm per hour in Cape Ashizuri in Kochi Prefecture, both in southwestern Japan, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.source : mainichi.jp

SLUG - Nacktschnecke ナメクジ namekuji Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, that has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell. This is in contrast to the common name snail, applied to gastropods that have a coiled shell large enough that the soft parts of the animal can retract fully into it.

TRANSLATION: a portmanteau of slug and whale; slugwhale HABITAT: homes and gardens; as a regular slug DIET: leaves and plants

APPEARANCE: As its name implies, the namekujira is a very large slug. Its body is described as reddish-brown in color, with a long stripe running down its back. From its head to its neck, it is covered in black spots.

BEHAVIOR: Namekujira live in gardens and behave just like ordinary slugs. It is their size that makes them so strange. They crawl across doors and fences, leaving behind enormous, silvery slime trails up to 100 hiro in length—almost 182 meters.

ORIGIN: Namekujira is described in the Kujirazashi shinagawa baori, a comical Edo-period book featuring different types of pun-based whale yōkai. Its name is a play on words, combining the words namekuji (slug) and kujira (whale). In addition to its name, this yōkai's description contains one more pun. There is a dish made from whale intestines called kujira no hyakuhiro. The name literally means "whale's 100 hiro," which comes from the great length of the whale's intestines. So the gag is that while kujira no hyakuhiro refers to a delicious meal, namekujira no hyakuhiro is just a 182 meter long slime trail. - source : patreon.com/posts/namekujira-

................................... Aomori 青森県 五戸町 Gonohe なめくぢの化物 The Namekuji Slug Monster Once there was an actor with the stage name of タヌキ Tanuki. He got a message from his mother and was on his way home to visit her. On a pass where monsters come out at night it was already evening. A namekuji slug monster came out and took him for a real Tanuki badger. The monster asked him for something that he was most afraid of, so he answered 金 Gold Money . The next evening the slug, who thought to fight him to the death, threw a box with 1000 gold coins (senryoobako 千両箱) into his home. Thus the clever Tanuki became a rich man.

................................... Gifu 岐阜県 高山市 Takayama

If you eat a raw Namakuji or a green frog, asthma will be healed.

................................... Hyogo 兵庫県

A man once helped a monkey which was captured by an octopus and got a Furoshiki 風呂敷 wrapper as a thank-you present. That night he stayed at a lodge. There was a huge storm and a monster seemed to blow in. The man pulled out the Furoshiki and pulled it over his bed covers. Then the wind stopped. When he looked closer in the morning, he saw a slug in the Furoshiki and it seemed the monster had slipped on it and disappeared.

................................... Kagawa 香川県 詫間町 Takuma

Sometimes a beautiful girl is seen at the edge of the pond. But whoever sees this girl will be eaten that night. Once a medicine vendor passed by the pond and saw a monkey crying. The monkey had a stomachache, so the vendor gave him some medicine. The monkey threw something at him and disappeared. That evening the vendor slept in a small room at a lodge when a huge serpent came out. It opened its huge mouth to eat him. So he threw the parcel from the monkey at the snake and it fled. Next morning the owner of the lodge came looking and they found that the present from the monkey had been a sludge, which is poisonous for the snake.

................................... Miyagi 宮崎県 東臼杵郡 Higashiusuki

Once a hunter was about to shoot a monkey, but then he took pity on the animal and let it go. On his way home from the forest, the monkey appeared again and gave him a slug. He wrapped it in a wrapper and continued his way home. Suddenly a 山女 "mountain woman" monster appeared and wanted to kill him. But this kind of monster is afraid of slugs, so she run away fast and the hunter reached home safely. This "mountain woman" is known as Yamahime 山姫 "Mountain Princess", a mountain monster.

................................... Niigata 新潟県

In former times, the 蛇 serpent, the 蛙 frog and the 大なめくじ large slug called Yamada no hime 山田の姫 "Princess of Yamada". If one of these monsters hides under the main pillar of a home (daikokubashira 大黒柱), the daughter of the home will heal from her illness. This tale has helped many families.

................................... Shiga 滋賀県 西浅井町 Nishiasai

If people use kumasasa 熊笹 bamboo grass, that has been purified at the shrine during a Spring festival, and hang it in their kitchen, there will be no cockroaches or slugs entering the kitchen.